Université du Québec à Rimouski
Ph.D. candidate
Supervisor: François Vézina
Oliver P. Love, Windsor University
Start: 2022-08-29
End: 2026-08-31
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Project

Energetics, reserve management and flight performance in wintering and migrating Snow Buntings

The snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) is an Arctic passerine in decline by 65% in North America over the past 50 years, for reasons still unknown. Snow buntings that breed in western Greenland winter south of Quebec and Ontario and connect these two regions in the spring by migrating along the Saint Lawrence valley before crossing the Labrador Sea, a major geographical barrier. Their migration strategies and the associated energy constraints, particularly the management of their lipid reserves, remain poorly understood.

My project aims to characterize the spring migration energy strategies of snow buntings along the Saint Lawrence River. Specifically, the study will focus on (1) the patterns of lipid reserve accumulation, (2) their impact on flight ability and predator escape performance, and (3) the crossing points of the Labrador Sea and their influence on migration energy strategies. To achieve this, I will rely on banding data analysis, morphological measurements, lipid mass measurements via magnetic resonance, and flight and orientation experiments. These analyses will also consider the influence of age and sex on these strategies.

Keywords

ecophysiology, Animal behaviour, migration, escape performance, Fattening, Arctic passerine

Publications

1- Insights on the residency status and inter-island movement patterns of pantropical spotted dolphins Stenella attenuata in the Agoa Sanctuary, Eastern Caribbean
Courtin, Baptiste, Cédric Millon, Aurore Feunteun, Morjane Safi, Nathalie Duporge, Jaime Bolanos-Jiménez, Dalia C. Barragan-Barrera, Laurent Bouveret, Benjamin De Montgolfier
2022 Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals

2- Site fidelity and population parameters of pantropical spotted dolphins in the Eastern Caribbean through photographic identification
Courtin, Baptiste, Cédric Millon, Aurore Feunteun, Morjane Safi, Nathalie Duporge, Jaime Bolaños-Jiménez, Dalia C. Barragán-Barrera, Laurent Bouveret, Benjamin de Montgolfier
2023 Frontiers in Marine Science